Shirtless tattooed fighter Max Holloway points at barefoot blonde woman Sophie Cunningham inside a UFC octagon, both smiling, with a packed arena in the background.
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WNBA Star Sophie Cunningham Kicked Off Her Kicks and Went Barefoot for a Surprise Turn as a UFC Ring Girl, Reigniting Chatter Around Her “MAGA Barbie” Label

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Sophie Cunningham was sitting ringside on her night off when she grabbed the Round 1 card, took one barefoot lap around the cage, and hit the finger-point that made her a meme.

Sophie Cunningham barefoot holding a round card inside the UFC cage at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
Barefoot and card in hand, Sophie Cunningham walks a round announcement at UFC 329 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 11, 2026. Photo by Chris Unger / UFC via Getty Images.

Dana White says the whole thing came together about eight minutes before Cunningham walked out at UFC 329 in Las Vegas on Saturday.

“When she walked in, she goes, ‘Oh, I wanna walk around that.’ I said, ‘Then you’re gonna walk around it,'” White told reporters afterward. The 6-foot-1 Indiana Fever guard kicked off her shoes before the co-main event, grabbed the Round 1 card and took a lap around the Octagon in a black tank top and shorts, breaking out the finger-point that’s become one of the biggest memes of the year.

Sophie Cunningham sitting ringside at UFC 329 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
At T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 11, 2026, UFC 329 drew Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham as a ringside spectator. Photo by Ian Maule / Getty Images.

She only got one lap. Paddy Pimblett choked Benoit Saint Denis unconscious in less than a minute, ending the fight in the first round. “I love Sophie Cunningham,” White said. “Yeah, she’s fun.”

Sophie Cunningham sitting ringside at UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
At T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 11, 2026, Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham takes in the action courtside during UFC 329. Photo by Ian Maule / Getty Images.

The finger-point is why any of this is happening. On June 17, Cunningham wrapped up Connecticut’s Jacy Sheldon and dragged her to the floor after Sheldon poked Caitlin Clark in the eye, then fought back when two Sun players rushed her. All three were ejected. Within days her Instagram and TikTok followings jumped past a million, and PRP, her agency, had Ring on the phone the next morning pitching her as a “protector.” Seven new deals followed, including Arby’s, and her Adidas Crazy Energy player-exclusive shoe drops July 24.

The nickname came with the spotlight. Fans started calling her “MAGA Barbie” back at Missouri, and it’s followed her into her Fever run as conservative outlets adopted her and Clark as their favorite W.N.B.A. storyline.

Sophie Cunningham in Indiana Fever uniform stretching before a game against the Seattle Storm
Sophie Cunningham #8 warms up ahead of Indiana Fever’s road matchup with the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena on August 3, 2025. Photo by Soobum Im / Getty Images.

Cunningham told The New York Times she’s “right in the middle” politically and doesn’t want to pick a side: “In our culture today you have to choose and you have to be an extremist, and that’s just not me.”

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